Main Menu

Prog 2100 - Anderson's Darkest Hour

Started by Richard, 22 September, 2018, 11:38:29 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

broodblik

Quote from: Tiplodocus on 27 September, 2018, 05:31:17 PM
An absolute belter of a prog from beginning to end. Most fun I've had (without Mrs. Tips) in ages.

But why can't digital subscribers get the offer? Surely we mean more money for Tharg's polystyrene cup habit?

Yes I agree
When I die, I want to die like my grandfather who died peacefully in his sleep. Not screaming like all the passengers in his car.

Old age is the Lord's way of telling us to step aside for something new. Death's in case we didn't take the hint.

Frank

Quote from: TordelBack on 27 September, 2018, 09:16:50 AM
I thought (the blacked-out swears in Brink) was very effective. It played very well into the genteel menace of the cultists, with their domestic implements and suburban pleasantries, contrasting with Alan's raw terror. Very clever, very Abnett

Might have been Abnett, but I assumed it was Tharg not wanting to be racked alongside Attitude, rather than Lego Batman, in WH Smith. Presumably, the efferties and jefferties will lose their text-[spoiler]burkas[/spoiler] when Brink's collected in trade paperback.

Interesting to see some of the mythology of Brink being mapped out: Melancholema, Vovek and Phale Chronozon are persons, or at least personifications of something(s). Previously, I thought they were just nausea/migraine-inducing noun phrases - like mayochup or live coverage of Glastonbury all weekend on the red button.

Speaking of domestic implements, isn't it a weird coincidence that Grant & Lynch's Anderson script also features human sacrifice involving a Black & Decker? And that strip runs back-to-back with another (Skip Tracer) where a character muses upon psi-powers and the past coming back to haunt them via internal monologue. No explanation; no point looking for one.



DrJomster

Awesome prog! Just wonderful in fact! I might buy a couple of copies in Smiths and give to friends to lure them into the House of Tharg...

Slight shame Anderson had to be rescued, but it looked gorgeous.

The hippo has wisdom, respect the hippo.

Bolt-01

Regarding Brink- I'll be surprised if it is editorial causing the [spoiler]spolier boxes[/spoiler]. To me it feels perfectly in line with the presentation of the strip. We get info boxes letting us know who folk are etc so I see this as another layer of the presentation.

GordonR

Quote from: Bolt-01 on 28 September, 2018, 11:06:54 AM
Regarding Brink- I'll be surprised if it is editorial causing the [spoiler]spolier boxes[/spoiler]. To me it feels perfectly in line with the presentation of the strip. We get info boxes letting us know who folk are etc so I see this as another layer of the presentation.

Yes.  Pretty sure it's a deliberate stylistic choice done for - quite obvious - comedy effect.

But, in the meantime, let's all enjoy Frank's authoritative pronouncements on what he thinks goes on behind the scenes.

Frank

Quote from: GordonR on 28 September, 2018, 12:14:14 PM
Quote from: Frank on 27 September, 2018, 08:27:34 PM
Might have been Abnett, but I assumed it was Tharg ... Presumably

Pretty sure ... let's all enjoy Frank's authoritative pronouncements

Weird.



sheridan

Quote from: Colin YNWA on 27 September, 2018, 06:30:38 AM
Quote from: robert_ellis on 26 September, 2018, 10:38:08 PM
This might be the best prog ever....

Wow that's a great shout. I doubt I'd ever be able to settle on a single Prog but certainly would stir up interesting discussion.

Prog 335.

sheridan

Quote from: IndigoPrime on 27 September, 2018, 08:58:57 AM
I'm not sure what was going on with those black boxes. Either have swearing or don't. Still, at least it didn't quite head to Marvel "@£$%^&" territory.

If only you knew what was behind the [spoiler] black boxes...[/spoiler]

sheridan

Quote from: IndigoPrime on 27 September, 2018, 08:58:57 AM
I'm not sure what was going on with those black boxes. Either have swearing or don't. Still, at least it didn't quite head to Marvel "@£$%^&" territory.

Looks like those characters mess up spoiler tags!  The black box was supposed to hide the character "@£$%^&" but at least one of those special characters messes up the whole spoiler tag.

Trout

So much to enjoy in this prog! I think Kingdom and Fiends were my favourites but there was something to enjoy in every strip. Looking forward to next week!

norton canes

Quote from: robert_ellis on 26 September, 2018, 10:38:08 PM
This might be the best prog ever

You know what, you might just be right. I did a big prog-slog a couple of years ago and even the best golden-era progs usually had something that weighed them down, a dodgy filler strip or a poor Future Shock. Or Mean Arena. But 2100 has no 'Talon in the ointment', so to speak. Even Skip Tracer, the nearest thing to a weak link, is written engagingly, even though the title character remains a frustrating void in an otherwise intriguing premise.

Elsewhere however, quality radiates in abundance. A Small House is instantly gripping and darkly portentous, although I'm not sure how a story that's so reliant on knowledge of past events is considered ideal for a jumping-on prog. I'd have thought that a better use for the Williams/Flint interrogation page would be a summary of the relevant plot lines. Oh well.

[Actually, could anyone please let me know which post-Trifecta stories I need to read, at least in summary? Ta.]

Dan Abnett's big hitters stand astride the remaining stories like the feet of, er, a giant comic-writing colossus. Brink continues in the sort of form that made it the runaway winner of the readers' poll on this forum earlier in the year, and Kingdom... Gene might just be my favourite 2000 AD character ever, you know. The series better end well for him. Honestly. I've never shed actual tears for the demise of one of Tharg's characters (though I did come close when Old One Eye tumbled into the dinosaur's graveyard) but there's a distinct possibility it could happen here.

The Anderson story is just exquisite - every panel is a treat, especially Jake Lynch's take on THAT classic moment. Also love the ersatz Dark Judges' gear (especially Fear's bowl-cut), and Anderson's gestured opinion of the apprehended exhibitionist's endowment. SinDex treads water a little but the riffing on RD's thought bubbles alone mean it deserves its slot.

Which leaves FOTEFET, as no-one else is calling it. I'll confess that Ian Edginton isn't one of my favourite script droids but his simple faux-Georgian prose is an effective counterpoint to Dave Taylor's beautiful artwork. The page 3/4 spread in particular looks amazing. Shame the denouement in the final panel's a bit hackneyed, but otherwise it's good stuff.


The best prog ever? Perhaps it's just a decent cover away from that accolade.

TordelBack

Quote from: norton canes on 29 September, 2018, 09:54:03 AM
Quote from: robert_ellis on 26 September, 2018, 10:38:08 PM
This might be the best prog ever
You know what, you might just be right. 

Ahem:

Quote from: sheridan on 28 September, 2018, 09:47:14 PM
Prog 335.

I think that remains the horse to beat. Prog 2000 v. 1 no slouch either.

This one, however, is as good a comic as any in recent years.  Not one dud note. Even the weakest story for me - the Anderson - was perfectly fine,  and elevated by superb Lynch art. FWIW I thought Lynch's version would pass for a slightly older Cass too. 

I do think that Tharg needs to make a call here - if readers still want 1970s Debbie Harry in high heel boots and soray-on leathers that's fine (and understandable!),  but maybe create a new character to fill that role, or even go back to the Young Anderson idea: personally I want the older wiser Anderson we get occasional glimpses of.


norton canes

For Best Prog Ever I'm usually tempted to say one of the Judge Death Lives progs (222-228) - maybe 228, with the start of Rogue Trooper as well as Nemesis Book I and Strontium Dog (The Kid Knee Caper). Though of course it does carry Mean Arena.

broodblik

Quote from: sheridan on 28 September, 2018, 09:47:14 PM
Quote from: Colin YNWA on 27 September, 2018, 06:30:38 AM
Quote from: robert_ellis on 26 September, 2018, 10:38:08 PM
This might be the best prog ever....

Wow that's a great shout. I doubt I'd ever be able to settle on a single Prog but certainly would stir up interesting discussion.

Prog 335.

Just look at the contents and people involved with 335 but 2100 (let down by an average cover) is definitely one of the best ever.
When I die, I want to die like my grandfather who died peacefully in his sleep. Not screaming like all the passengers in his car.

Old age is the Lord's way of telling us to step aside for something new. Death's in case we didn't take the hint.

norton canes

Just to be awkward :) I'd go for 336 over 335 because the McMahon cover edges the O'Neill/Ezquerra montage